Taxing Times - a Gift for French Brewers

One third of the price of a pint of beer in a British pub is tax (Excise duty and
VAT). We pay nearly seven times more tax on a pint than the French! One pint in
twenty drunk over here is brewed in France! This is set to increase to a staggering
one pint in five by 2006!

Because of the Government's high tax policy, pubs and breweries are closing. Kent
brewers Shepherd Neame claim that they have been forced to c!ose 45 pubs since
the Single Market came into force in 1992. Since Christmas, at least six small local
breweries have closed. This affects local services, choice for consumers and of
course jobs - 900,000 British jobs are supported by the industry.

There is an argument for cutting tax on all alcoholic products, but beer sales count
for over 60% of the turnover of an average pub, so the effects of a cut in beer tax
would be most beneficial. It's an unfair tax too; a 20 or 30p increase on the price of
a bottle of wine would scarcely be noticed.

Chancellor Brown backs Beer Smugglers

So what did the Chancellor do in the Budget? He aided and abetted the growing
army of smugglers by adding a penny on beer tax. Some two-thirds of the beer
coming over from Calais is smuggled. Smugglers don't care who they sell to, so
long as they collect the cash. This is leading to increased problems with under-age
drinking. A high tax acts against the licensing law. If tax was reduced more people
would do their drinking in the socially controlled environment of the local pub.

There are no winners from high beer tax. Sensible use of the Treasury's own
economic model has shown that a tax cut of just 20% would be self-financing after
two years. The industry would benefit and all pub-goers (not just beer drinkers)
would benefit from increased investment in pubs. The Government would not lose
overall revenue due to the positive effects (on demand) of lower prices and better
amenities. Unfortunately, the Treasury seems to be ignoring this.

CAMRA sent its Budget submission to Gordon Brown. We want him to cut beer
tax down to the European average, in stages, to be achieved by the year 2000.

We also want him to reduce the amount of beer individuals can bring back in the
form of personal imports without running across additional customs duty. At the
moment, this is far too high. It must be reduced significantly until tax
harmonisation has been achieved.

The call for a reduced beer tax is not new; the consequences of neglecting it are
mushrooming - our social infra-structure is under threat as never before.